When you add a new printer to your home network or to your PC, you may be able to start printing right away as the Windows operating system supports most of the commercially available printers. In normal cases, you need not go out of your way to install the software and drivers of the printer. Moreover, if you are using Windows RT 8.1 or Windows 8.1, you can have additional printer drivers and support via Windows Update.

Installing a Printer to your PC

In most of the cases, all you have to do to hook up a printer to your PC is just connect it to your Windows computer. You need to plug in the USB cable from the printer to the USB port on your computer and turn the printer on to use it.

If you were using a wireless printer, you need to add the printer to the home network. For this, read the owner’s manual provided with the printer to know how to do this. You may also refer to the website of the printer to understand the steps.

If you were trying to install a network printer, you would need the name of the printer. If you do not have the name of the printer, you will need to contact the network administrator to get the details. If everything goes well, you will be able to see the printer that you just installed, in the list of available printers connected to the network.

Select the printer, click on the Next button, and the computer will prompt you to install the printer driver. The computer may ask you to type in the administrator password while trying to install the printer driver.

You should understand that the list of available printers would include all the printers in the network, like wireless and Bluetooth printers, or those printers that are connected to other computers in the network and shared on the network. Moreover, you may need permissions to install some of the printers.

After installing the printer, you can confirm that it is working by printing a test page. Also, make sure that you keep the printer driver up to date with automatic Windows driver updates.

How to Fix Printer Issues

Sometimes, you may find that the printer is not working after installing and connecting it. There can be many reasons for your new printer not working and the troubleshooting can involve many steps. The reason can be a simple issue with the electric cord of the printer or it can be a conflict with some other peripherals connected to the computer.

Whatever the reason be for your printer not working, it will be better to get help from trained computer tech support agents to find and fix the issue. As professional computer support technicians are well-versed with the computer printer issues and how to fix such errors, your concerns will be dealt much effectively.